The location of thermostats in vehicles has made their replacement costly and time consuming. Most thermostat valves are located in a housing near the engine block and are difficult to change due to the complexities of the engines and engine accessories that may be in the way. The routings of hoses and the placements of various components around the thermostat housing make it usually difficult to change the thermostat valve.
Thermostat valves are necessary to control the engine heat build-up caused by running combustion engines. The thermostat valve is used to control the flow of cooling fluid between a radiator and the engine that needs to be cooled. The valve usually remains in a closed position until a certain threshold temperature is reached and then the valve moves to an open position and allows the coolant to pass therethrough. Under normal operating conditions, cooling fluids generally do not circulate through both the engine and the radiator until the threshold temperature is reached. At the threshold point the valve opens and cooling fluid circulates between the engine and radiator flow lines.